Monitoring Equipment

Ministry of Defence did not have the information requested.

Dear Ministry of Defence,

I refer to your reply to my FOI 11-03-2013-114455-007 dated 3 May 2013.

In the 'Bunker' located at ground Zero, or 'Steel Cubes' as they appear to be referred to, could you please inform me as to the purpose of the instruments located within this structure.

I counted at least five or six instruments prior to detonation of the devices detonated during 'Grapple 'Z' but more may have been added after cessation of my duties within this structure..

1. Could you please advise me on the total number of instruments located within the afore mentioned structure on detonation for both Pennant and Burgee atomic detonations?

2. Could you please advise me as to the information being monitored, and recorded, by each of these instruments during both Pennant and Burgee detonations?

Yours faithfully,

Dave Whyte

DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

Dear Mr Whyte,

 

Thank you for your e-mail of 29 September 2013 requesting the following
information:

 

‘I refer to your reply to my FOI 11-03-2013-114455-007 dated 3 May 2013.

 

In the 'Bunker' located at ground Zero, or 'Steel Cubes' as they appear to
be referred to, could you please inform me as to the purpose of the
instruments located within this structure.

 

I counted at least five or six instruments prior to detonation of the
devices detonated during 'Grapple 'Z' but more may have been added after
cessation of my duties within this structure..

 

1. Could you please advise me on the total number of instruments located
within the afore mentioned structure on detonation for both Pennant and
Burgee atomic detonations?

 

2. Could you please advise me as to the information being monitored, and
recorded, by each of these instruments during both Pennant and Burgee
detonations?

 

Your request is being dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of
Information Act and will be answered within twenty working days.  We will,
therefore, write to you again by 25 October 2013 with either a substantive
response or an update on your request.

 

If you have any queries about this request, please do not hesitate to
contact us.  Please remember to quote reference number
30-09-2013-155226-003 in any future correspondence.

 

Regards

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat

DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte

 

Please find attached an update in respect of your Freedom of Information
request 30-09-2013-155226-003.

 

Regards

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat

 

 

Dear DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

Under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act an answer should be given within 20 working days or reasons should be given for the delay.

This you have failed to comply with.

Could you please expedite this request

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte

 

I am resending this email because the original, sent on 22 November,
failed to reach your account. 

 

Please find attached an update in respect of your Freedom of Information
request 30-09-2013-155226-003. 

 

Regards

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat

 

 

DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte

 

Please find attached an update in respect of your Freedom of Information
request 30-09-2013-155226-003. 

 

Regards

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat

 

 

Darren left an annotation ()

MOD still thinking of reasons to withhold this information from you. Ridiculous.

Dave Whyte left an annotation ()

Many thanks Darren,
I can now prove they have falsified evidence,I can prove they have also committed forgery and lied on many occassions. When the day of reckoning comes they will not have a provebial 'Leg to stand on!'
WATCH THIS SPACE!
Dave

DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte

 

Please find attached an update in respect of your Freedom of Information
request 30-09-2013-155226-003. 

 

Regards

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat

 

 

Dear DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),
The February reply is now overdue, could you please give me an update on the information requested

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte,

 

Please see attached an update to your Freedom of Information request.

 

Regards,

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat

 

 

show quoted sections

DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte,

 

Please see attached an update to your Freedom of Information request.

 

Regards,

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat

 

 

 

DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte,

 

Please see attached an update on your Freedom of Information request.

 

Regards,

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat

 

 

 

 

 

Dear DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),
Thank you for your reply. As this request was placed almost seven months ago (in September 2013) I believe adequate time has elapsed for an answer to be given.

I am therefore requesting an 'Internal Review' regarding this Freedom of Information request.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte,

 

Please see attached an update to your Freedom of Information request.

 

Regards,

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat

 

Dear DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

A reply was due yesterday to this long overdue FOI. Can you please give details of the information requested or your reasons for non-delivery.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte

Please find attached an update in respect of your Freedom of Information
request 30-09-2013-155226-003.

Regards

DE&S Policy Secretariat

 

 

 

 

 

Dear DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

Thank you for your reply.

What is taking the time?

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

john price left an annotation ()

Disingenuousness? MOD surely not.

Dear DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

It is now the 9th July 2014, and as yet there is no reply to my request on 'Monitoring Equipment' placed last September 2013.

Can you please give me the details on the information requested or place this matter with your internal examiners for an 'Internal Review' as I feel I have waited long enough to obtain information readily available from your archives.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

DES SEC-PolSecSWA1 (O'donnell, Guy Mr),

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Whyte

 

Please find attached an update in respect of your Freedom of Information
request 30-09-2013-155226-003. 

 

Regards

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat

 

 

Dear DES SEC-PolSecSWA1 (O'donnell, Guy Mr),
Thank you for your recent letter stating the reply is now due on the 4th August 2014.

I refer to your letter, Reference 30-09-2013-155226-003 dated 16 May 2014 which states "We are nearing completion of your FOI request and anticipate that it will take no longer than 15 working days to conclude"

That was 55 days ago and you are still requesting more time.

As stated in my previous correspondence I am now requesting an Internal Review, originally requested on the 16 April 2014 but no action was taken, to review the handling of this Freedom of Information Request.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

DES SEC-PolSecShips and Subs (MULTIUSER),

5 Attachments

Dear Mr Whyte,

 

Please see attached an update on your Freedom of Information request.

 

Regards,

 

DE&S Policy Secretariat

 

Dear Ministry of Defence,

Please pass this on to the person who conducts Freedom of Information reviews.

I am writing to request an internal review of Ministry of Defence's handling of my FOI request 'Monitoring Equipment'.

Thank you for the reply to my Freedom of Information Questions which did not answer the questions raised regarding the 'Number' and the 'Purpose' of the recording machines situated inside the bunker at 'Ground Zero' for the atomic bombs Pennant and Burgee.

The information supplied relates to 'D' and 'F' sites. It is 'Ground Zero', the area where I worked, that I am interested in discovering the facts.

A full history of my FOI request and all correspondence is available on the Internet at this address: https://www.whatdotheyknow.com/request/m...

Yours faithfully,

Dave Whyte

CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

Dear Mr Whyte,

 

Receipt is acknowledged of your e-mail of 30 July 2014.    We will conduct
an internal review of your request for information (as per reference)
which was processed under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on behalf
of the Ministry of Defence by Defence Equipment and Support.

 

The Department's target for completing internal reviews under the FOIA is
20 working days and we therefore aim to complete the review and respond to
you by 28 August 2014.   

 

The review will involve a full, independent reconsideration of the
handling of the case as well as the final decision. 

 

Yours sincerely,

 

MOD Information Rights Compliance Team

 

Dear CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),
The target quoted for completion of this FOI was the 28 August 2014, as we are now at the 29 August can an update please be given?

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

Dear Mr Whyte,

 

We are sorry that we have been unable to meet our internal target date for
completing this internal review as previously stated (ref above).    It
has not been possible due to the lack of availability of subject matter
experts who have been on leave at this time of year to investigate the
particular issues you raised. 

 

We hope to be in a position to provide a response to you within a further
20 working days time.

 

If the handling of the review is unsatisfactory to you, you have an
absolute right to make a complaint to the Information Commissioner under
the provisions of Section 50 of the Act although he is unlikely to
investigate the case until the MOD review process is completed.  Further
details of the role and powers of the Information Commissioner can be
found on the Commissioner’s website, www.ico.gov.uk   

 

Yours sincerely,

 

MOD Informaiton Rights Compliance Team

 

 

Dear CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),
I thank you for your update.

Having dealt with the Ministry of Defence for many years whilst attempting to obtain answers to my FOI questions, it comes as no surprise that you are still in the process of formulating an answer to my straight forward questions (dated 29 September 2013) 'How many instruments were in the Bunker and what were they recording?'

I eagerly await reading your update on the 26 September 2014.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

Dear Mr Whyte,

 

Please be aware that the Freedom of Information Act does not give you a
right to have questions answered directly; officials can only answer on
the basis of providing any relevant recorded information held by the
Department (or on its behalf) that meets the description of the request;
where relevant information is not held we simply have to state this to be
the case.

 

It would be quite wrong of this Department to respond to an information
request under the Act in any other way, such as a "formulating an answer",
as this would not be compliant with the legislation. 

 

In the case of your many information requests received by MOD over the
past nine years your enquiries are so particular that they involve
considerable research by specialists.  They are consequently burdensome
and time-consuming. Nevertheless, we continue at all times to try and meet
your requirements to the best of our ability, balancing these demands
against those of other requesters. 

 

We are grateful for your patience.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

MOD Information Rights Team

 

 

 

henry gledhill left an annotation ()

They're up to their old tricks again.
Mention British Nuclear Test Veterans and they go into meltdown.
Their experts who deal with these matters are" on leave"
When I served we understood that "experts" meant ex=has beens
and sperts were drips under pressure.
Clearly nothing has changed.

Dear CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

The customary 20 days have now elapsed, can you please supply an update as to how you are progressing with the finalisation of this request.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

Dear Mr Whyte,

Thank you for your enquiry. We are still in the process of
investigating your internal review. Please bare in mind that whilst
there is a statuary timescale in the Freedom of Information Act 2000 for
an information response there is none for the duration of an internal
review, although we try and meet the Commissioner's expectation that the
majority of the complaints received by a public authority should be
investigated within 20 working days.

If you are dissatisfied with the way your appeal is being processed you
have an absolute right to make a complaint to the Commissioner, the
details of whose role and powers can be found on his website at:
www.ico.co.uk. His address is: Information Commissioner's Office,
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, WILMSLOW, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely,

MOD Information Rights Team

CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

1 Attachment

  • Attachment

    20141007 Rev Whyte Monitoring and recording equipment info Rev response.pdf

    193K Download View as HTML

PSA

 

MOD Information Rights Compliance Team

Dear CIO-FOI-IR (MULTIUSER),

Thank you for your reply regarding my request for an internal review

At Para 7 you state that you hold no information on the numbers of instruments located within the bunker situated at Ground Zero. This statement does not conform with the other literature provided by the Ministry of Defence stating that 'Meticulous Recordings of Information' were made.

The bunker at Ground Zero was virtually 'Blast Proof' therefore there was no reason to remove any of the instruments for this reason. One of my tasks was to 'Shore' up the roof of the bunker to prevent a possible collapse. The bunker was still intact two hours after detonation of the bombs when I was sent in to pick up all the radioactive debris. The bunker was half submerged and covered in soil to safeguard it from any blast or excessive heat.

Para 8 makes reference to 'Steel Cubes'. The bunker was approximately 12 feet x 8feet x 8 feet therefore it could not be called a 'Cube' and it was made of 'Iron' rather than 'Steel'.

Yours sincerely,

Dave Whyte

frank gee left an annotation ()

A case for the ICO if ever I saw one.
They must be waiting for a chance to punish MOD over its dismal FOIA record.

Dave Whyte left an annotation ()

This case went to a First Tier Tribunal in Edinburgh (11 Aug 2015) but the Ministry of Defence did not attend to give evidence.

I am now awaiting the Judges recommendations.

All the best
Dave Whyte

frank gee left an annotation ()

You've got them running scared. They really haven't got a clue.
Frank

Dave Whyte left an annotation ()

Thought I would let everyone following this topic know the result.

I attended a First Tier tribunal in August 2015 and there was a Judge and two panel Members but no one from the Ministry of Defence - they bottled out of attending.

The Judge awarded the Ministry of defence his Judgement for the case.
One wonders how a Judgement can be given to individuals who do not have the backbone to attend the hearing. They should have been charged with criminal negligence at the very least!

Dave Whyte

frank gee left an annotation ()

Get that army of Civil Servants doing something useful.
Refer their chicanery to the Information Commissioner.
Frank